Variables
by Saiyon
Summary: Bella has been through a lot, thankfully with her two best friends as they drifted from foster home to foster home in the system. But after another problem, they go together to Alaska, where they end up with the worst family of all time. But if they don't pull through, they'll get separated, and to top it off, their sorta neighbors the Denalis are giving them a reason to stay.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hey guys, I know this isn't what any of you wanted and that you've all been hoping for an update. But the holiday season is always crazy for me, and I haven't gotten around to writing. So since I'm feeling bad about that, I've decided to post the first two chapters of this old story I've got laying around so you guys at least have something to read. Sorry about this, and I know this is a lot different than what I usually write, which is why I never published it. Still, it's better than nothing, right?_

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Chapter 1

It was just another party, but Lex was having the time of her life. She danced, drank, and laughed throughout most of the night. The fact that the party was outside just made it seem all the more exciting. But every time she looked towards a certain dark corner, a little ways off from everyone else, there sat a tiny hooded figure, a diet coke can in her hand with a growing number of cans at her side. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and decided to come to her side.

"What's up, Bells? Not enjoying yourself?" Lex asked as she plopped down next to her sister in question, throwing an arm over Bella's shoulder, careful to avoid skin contact. Bella simply shook her head, and that made Lex's heart drop. The whole reason Lex had come to this thing––and dragged Bella along––was to try and get Bella to have some fun. Ever since the whole incident when Bella was little, which was ironically how Bella and Lex had met their best friend and brother, Bella had become a shell of her former self. The whole thing had changed the brunette, and not for the better.

The hair on Lex's arms still rose when she thought about it. While she had been very young, certain snapshots of that moment stood out in the memory; Bella's scream, the ugly man's fleshy face, the way his beady black eyes gleamed when he grabbed Bella's arm, the weight on Lex's chest from the man's large boot, her own tears...and finally, big ol' Bear coming out of nowhere, barrelling into the man and taking him to the ground. Bear had saved them, had done something most men would have been afraid to do, and Bear had only been nine. It was even more amazing knowing what he had done after Lex and Bella had gotten to know him, as he was the shyest, sweetest, and least confrontational boy they could ever imagine. Bella and Lex still laughed when people got scared off by his size, thinking of him as a thug.

Still, despite being rescued, that event had changed Bella forever. She had admitted later that night while in the hospital bed that she had passed out at the man's touch, had explained how the man's hand felt like it was on fire. It didn't make Lex feel any better when she noticed a red outline on Bella's arm that looked like a light burn.

It was also that night that Lex had realized how much Bella had changed. When Lex had reached out a comforting hand, she had been hurt when Bella had flinched away. Bella looked just as struck, had apologized. Then Bella had tried to touch Lex herself, only to let out a short scream of pain and pull away, telling Lex it felt like where they had touched was burning her. Lex and Bella had no idea what to do, especially since they had been so close and had quite a bit of contact before then. It certainly didn't help when Bella found out that anyone's touch, whether they meant to make contact or not, burned just as badly. In the end, Bella had no choice but to walk around covering every inch of skin, which only made her more of an outcast.

Sadly, Lex had been changed too by the incident. She felt like she always needed to be on guard, always needed to be ready to protect herself and Bella. After all, Bella had once saved her, and Lex would always do the same. It was only thanks to Bear that she could have a moment to relax, like tonight.

Speaking of Bear, where was that giant? How was it even possible to lose such a big, bulky boy in such a big crowd?

"Seriously? Not even a little bit of fun?" Lex pressed, her eyes still scanning the surrounding area, unable to find Bear's head, which should have been seriously easy to spot. "Have you even talked to anyone?"

"You, and Bear and I had a sorta conversation a while ago," Bella said with a shrug as she took a long drink from another coke can.

"You know those don't count," Lex huffed. "And you're totally cut off. Having this much soda is not good for you."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Bella replied dryly, right before she quickly chugged the rest of the can's contents. She flashed a grin at Lex before putting the can on top of the others. Lex hadn't realized it, but Bella had been creating a 3D four-cornered pyramid out of all the soda cans she had finished. "I know you're trying to help and all, but I'm just not normal. I can't fit in, or hang out, or whatever normal kids do unless I'm with you and Bear."

"Whatever," Lex huffed, crossing her arms over her ample chest. She got quite a few lustful looks from guys, which she easily ignored. "I'm not giving up on you yet, shortstack."

"I'm not short!" Bella protested heatedly, but Lex only gave her a look.

"Bells, you're sixteen and you haven't even reached five feet yet. You're short."

"No. Everyone else is just stupidly tall," Bella mumbled sulkily, looking down at her feet, one of which was kicking at the dirt. "If everyone just shrunk a little…"

"Then you'd still be short," Lex deadpanned. Then she once again looked up at the crowd. "Speaking of height, where's our Bear at?"

Bella shrugged. "He got a call and had to take it."

"Seriously?" Lex snorted, leaning back on her hands. "I can always imagine how awkward that'll be for the caller." Bear only talked to people he felt really comfortable with, and even then he didn't talk much. To top it all off, he was even more awkward when on the phone no matter who it was.

"At least Bear's a good listener," Bella joked, and Lex could just see the hints of a small smile from under the hoodie.

Now that Lex thought about it, maybe it was a good thing nobody wanted to get to know her. If someone bothered to look under the gloves, baggy jeans, and the hoodie––literally––they would realize just how hot Bella was. With dark brown hair, gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, and a beautiful face, Bella was gorgeous. Not to mention her petite frame made her all the more irresistible to guys. She really didn't like the idea of Bella being taken advantage of. Maybe Lex should have thought the whole party idea through a little more…

It was only a few minutes later that Bear came out from behind a bunch of rocks, something Lex noted still gave him perfect view of the party and, more importantly to him, Bella and Lex. A boy who had been being a little too pushy with Lex took one look at the large, six foot five guy, and promptly booked it. Bear didn't seem to notice, however, as he was currently trying to get around Bella's pyramid without knocking it over––he was cutely considerate like that.

"So Bear, what's the news? I heard you got a phone call," Lex said the second Bear had sat down on Bella's other side.

The large boy nodded, shoving his shaggy mahogany brown hair out of his face to reveal his gorgeous honey brown eyes. Lex always felt a twinge of envy at his looks, as he and Bella could pass for real siblings, while Lex was always the odd one out thanks to her jet black hair––with ends currently dyed a dark purple––and violet eyes. The only way Lex and Bella looked alike was the pale skin they both had. Whenever Lex declared openly that they were sisters, nobody took them seriously or didn't believe them. Yes, Lex and Bella didn't share blood, but they had been together practically since birth. Lex hated knowing that just because there wasn't a blood or looks connection between them, people automatically decided that all of their memories, time, and love weren't important.

"So, what's the news?" Bella asked, nudging the large boy when Bear still didn't speak.

"I, uh…" Bear started, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. "The...my care worker...he says that my foster family doesn't want to deal with me anymore. I'm too scary for them."

"What?" Bella and Lex screeched at once, jumping to their feet. One or both of them accidentally knocked into the pyramid of cans, sending cans flying in every direction and causing a lot of noise. While the party's music still played, everyone stopped and turned to stare at them.

"Let's get out of here," Lex said, her body almost shaking in fury as she grabbed Bear by the hand and pulled him to his feet. Bear tried to stop himself from crushing any cans underfoot, but Lex and Bella didn't have the same concerns. Bella grabbed Bear's other hand with her gloved ones, and both girls insistently tugged Bear away from the party.

When they were far enough away so that they wouldn't be overheard, Lex and Bella both turned to focus on Bear.

"What do they mean, too scary? You're the sweetest guy in the world!" Bella fumed as she started to pace back and forth.

"It's––it's okay," Bear protested in his soft, low voice. "You guys can stay, it's just me who has to go, so––"

"Oh, hell no!" Lex snapped, glaring up at Bear. Damn it, she wanted to climb up his body and shove his hair out of his face, just so she could glare into his eyes and he could see clearly how furious she was. "We swore, Bear. We swore that we were going to stay together, no matter what happens. The system promised we'd stay together too; they even signed papers!" Although that had been mostly out of guilt after they had seen the trauma both Lex and Bella had suffered because of their mistake. Not that guilt made the papers any less binding.

"And how dare those assholes try to get you kicked out while keeping us?" Bella added, letting out a furious growl. Never before had she wanted to hit something so badly. How dare they try to kick Bear out just because of his looks? Not to mention he worked harder than any of them, did more chores than even their foster parents. "They know we're a package deal."

"Give me your phone," Lex said, holding out her hand, palm up.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bear mumbled, sensing just how angry Lex was.

"Bear." It was all Lex needed to say, and the big guy handed over his phone without another word. Bella rubbed his back with a hand, more than happy for Lex to rip the social worker a new one.

Lex dialed the number, put it on speaker, and it was only after two rings that Oliver Montgomery picked up the phone. "What the hell, Ollie?" Lex demanded before Oliver could even get out a hello.

Everyone could hear the heavy sigh come from the man. "Lex. I knew you were going to call."

"So I repeat; what the hell, Ollie?" Lex stated flatly, nearly trembling with rage.

"I can't _make_ them keep Bear, you know that. And I doubt you'd want them to after everything that happened," Oliver tried to explain as calmly as possible.

"Hell no I don't. But you think we'd want to stay there, knowing how they felt about someone who's a _brother_ to us? Someone who saved our lives? You think we'd stay in that house, or any house, without Bear with us? We'd have no idea what would be happening to him! What if he ends up bullied? Or taken advantage of?"

Bella didn't say anything about that, as Lex was sort of right. It took serious balls to even think about messing with someone who was as big and strong as Bear, but that didn't mean it was impossible. And Bear had never been the type to defend himself, so if someone really did try to bully him, Bear wasn't going to fight back.

"You know that's not going to happen," Oliver grumbled, but nobody said anything. Bear was busy fidgeting nervously, glancing between a furious Lex and a furious Bella. While it felt amazing to have two great friends, great sisters, at his side, he didn't want to get them in trouble. It would kill him.

"Just tell me why you thought him going anywhere without us isn't a bad idea," Bella spoke, loud enough for the phone to pick up on her voice.

"I never said I didn't think it was a bad idea. But I'm not a miracle worker. The choices were to either move Bear and keep you two where you are, or to move all three of you up to Alaska and––"

"Done," Lex and Bella said at the same time, stunning Oliver to silence.

"Girls, it's a small town, and I know how bad you two are with cold," Oliver said, trying to help the two girls see reason.

"So Bella will bundle up even more, and I'll learn to live with it." Lex hadn't thought the idea through, as usual, but now that she was considering it, it was actually looking good. Not only would the three of them get to stay together, but now Bella wouldn't be looked at as such an outcast for wearing heavy layers that covers her up. Lex was the only real one who would have to suffer up there, but it was a small sacrifice. Not that the level of sacrifice really mattered to her, as she'd give up an arm and a leg without a thought if it meant keeping the three of them together. One of the scariest idea was separation, not just because they wouldn't know what was going on in each other's lives, but because when they're finally kicked out of the system, they would have no idea how to get in touch with each other again. This was especially true since the system wouldn't give any information of anyone it still had inside and the three would have no choice but to wander and struggle to survive somewhere in the United States.

"But––"

"Oliver, we're staying together. Alaska is as good of a place as any to go, and we're not separating. You might as well make it happen," Lex said.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you can't stand it up there," Oliver said with a frustrated groan.

"Call Bear later with the details," was all Lex replied with. Pleased at the victory, Lex then hung up and turned to the most important people in her world.

"So…" Bella started, grabbing Lex and Bear's hands. "It seems we're leaving Phoenix."

At that, all three broke out in relieved laughter.

Everything was going to be alright. They were going to stay together, no matter what. That's what their little family meant to them.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: As I said, I'm updating the first two chapters of this story. But I forgot to add, regardless of whether I have a jackton of updates or not, I will be uploading another new story on Christmas, a Maggie/Bella fic, as I promised an awesome reader of mine. Hopefully you guys don't mind all the new stories, but if you do, sorry but too bad because I did promise and all. Anyways, hopefully this story is good enough to tie at least a few of you over until I can get around to actually updating something._

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Chapter 2

It was hell for the three's foster family for the last two days that Bella, Bear, and Lex stayed with them. Not only did they make every moment spent in the couple's presence as hard as possible, but they made a mess. Lex even threw a pretty good diva tantrum after she was "caught" hosting a party in the house when the couple came back after realizing that they couldn't stay away from their house until the kids left. To top it all off, Bella and Lex made it very clear to Bear that he wasn't to help the couple in any way, and at one point, they even sat on the large boy to prevent him from picking up after himself after he accidentally spilled his dinner. It was priceless to see the look on the couple's face when they realized how much Bear did for them before, and how much worse it was now that they had attempted to betray him.

Yes, it was petty. But revenge was revenge, and it felt so, so good.

The couple looked ready to dance and cry and thank Jesus right there on their front porch when it was time to leave. Lex made sure to put their meager possessions into the trunk as slowly as possible, just to prolong the agony. The couple looked ready to have a heart attack every time that Lex claimed she "forgot" something and went back inside.

Still, Lex could only torture them for so long, and Oliver was getting impatient. Soon, Lex and Bear were crammed into the back of the car with Bella in the passenger's seat, as even clothed prolonged contact would start to hurt her, and Bear was too big to stop it. Bear sitting in the front wouldn't help either, as he was so big he hindered Oliver's ability to properly control the car. Bear was already uncomfortable, as he had to slouch in the seat.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's okay _,_ Bear," Lex said with a roll of her eyes as Bear once again tried to give Lex more room. Bear's mumbled apology as he stopped trying to shrink himself only made Bella laugh.

"Don't worry, Ollie, it's only another thirty minute drive, a plane ride, and a ten minute car ride to our new home; then you won't ever have to see us again," Bella tried to soothe the clearly stressed out man. After all, they only had to spend about a year and a half left before Bella and Lex turned eighteen, and about two years for Bear.

"Unless another family tries to fuck us over," Lex added. "So let's hope this family's a good one, yeah?"

"Most definitely," Oliver grumbled in agreement as he hunched over the steering wheel, eyes glued to the road. Yes, the kids were a huge pain in his ass, but he did have to admire their will when it came to keeping the three together. Not that he'd ever admit to that.

"But wait, if we end up in a good placement, who is going to drive our dear Ollie crazy? He'll be all alone," Lex said, a touch of wickedness to her voice.

"I'll manage. Now will you please, for the love of all that is holy, shut up?" Oliver all but begged, seemingly already at his limit.

Lex opened his mouth to give him even more hell, but Bear put a calming hand on her shoulder. Luckily for their social worker, that was enough to shut Lex up. The car fell into a tense quiet as everyone did their own thing.

Bella, however, couldn't stay quiet for long. "So when are we going to get something to eat?"

"Who knows?" Oliver groaned. "But you're just going to have to wait."

"Tell that to my stomach," Bella mumbled, putting a hand over the body part as it growled loudly.

Oliver didn't answer, not wanting to get dragged into another round of torturous back and forth with any of the kids. He instead focused so completely on the road in front of him that his eyes started to hurt.

Stretching herself backwards so she could be closer to Lex and Bear, Bella whispered, "Is his face going to be okay if he keeps doing that?"

Lex leaned over to get a look, then pulled back and shrugged. "Who knows. At least he'll be funny to look at."

Oliver gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to respond. His savior, however, was the time; it wasn't long before the airport came into view. Oliver had parked, grabbed the threes' stuff as well as a small bag of his own, and was dragging it all towards the airport before the kids were even out of the car.

"Well, someone clearly wants us gone," Lex commented as she watched the man struggle to carry it all. "I totally should have put some more weight in that."

"That's not nice," Bear mumbled. "He's doing his best."

"Right, it's not his fault that his jackassedness makes him so crappy," Bella agreed with a nod.

"That's not what I…" Bear started to say but trailed off with a shake of his head. He knew Oliver wasn't going to be let off the hook until the man was leaving them again.

"Come on, let's go. I don't want Oliver to try to weasel out of taking us down to our 'new home,'" Lex said, doing air quotes and an eye roll when she said the last two words. She walked after Oliver, and with a glance and shrug shared between Bear and Bella, they followed.

Getting their boarding passes and their luggage checked was the easy part, but Bella felt her heartbeat start to pick up dramatically as she eyed the security line. Sensing their sister's fear, Bear took up the back with Lex in the front, with Oliver in front of Lex, oblivious to everything going on. Everyone who took one look at Bear decided that it was best to put some space between them and the big boy, so Bear didn't have to even worry about someone on the other side of the barrier between them brushing up against Bella.

When they made it to the security checkpoint, they handed over their ID one by one, and Bella had to pull back the hood of her hoodie so she didn't look suspicious. Already, she was uneasy at having bare skin out in the open, but she knew it would only get worse. She followed Lex to her line, trying to hide her nervousness––this would be something workers could pick up on and decide to harass her for. She quickly pulled her hoodie over her head and threw it in one of the bins, along with her shoes and gloves, and after checking her pockets, her backpack joined her clothes on the conveyor belt.

Only when Bella was ready to go through security herself did Lex give in to the complaining security screener and step through the detector. Nothing dinged, and the grumpy man decided not to stop and mess with her anyways, something Bella noted with relief, as it had happened before.

Bella went through next, and once again, nothing dinged. But as she stepped through, her heart felt ready to burst out of her chest, as the security screener was so close they were only an inch away from Bella's bare arm making contact. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Bella no longer had to worry about having an episode in front of the public and possibly causing her and the others to be detained and possibly miss their flight.

Bella was dressed in record time––although she didn't dare pull up her hood again, as it would still look suspicious and even dangerous to those who saw––and looked up at Lex, only to catch the annoyance on Lex's face as she glared back towards the checkpoint. Following Lex's gaze, Bella felt her own spark of anger as she realized that Bear had been pulled aside despite not setting off any alarms, having been deemed suspicion.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Oliver muttered, shaking his head as he also realized what was happening, and that security was searching Bear again and again. He hurried over there, and after some words with the security staff, got Bear released.

"At least Ollie's good for something," Lex grumbled, making Bella laugh softly, as she had been thinking the exact same thing.

Bear joined them fully dressed and ready to go a moment later, and as they walked further into the airport to search for their gate, Bella started getting antsy all over again. It was stupid, Bella knew that––especially since only her face was bare, and it would take a pretty large person to be able to manage skin to skin contact when bumping into her––yet Bella couldn't help but fear the possibility. Any kind of contact with strangers made Bella feel nauseous, but the thought of actual skin contact, the pain she'd feel, as well as her reaction to the pain being seen by others, was enough to freak the brunette out.

Without needing a word or a glance, Bear and Lex each pulled up on a side of Bella. Bella felt guilty immediately since she felt like her two best friends felt they had to do this, but they didn't sigh or even look put out. All they seemed to want to do was protect Bella, and it didn't feel like they were doing this because they felt like it was a job or chore, but that they were doing it because they simply wanted to protect their friend.

 _Where would I be right now?_ Bella wondered to herself with awe. _Where would I be right now if I didn't have Lex and Bear in my life?_

Almost as if Lex and Bear had read her mind, Bear gently and shyly took one of Bella's hands in comfort as Lex nudged B's side lightly with hers and, said with a cocky yet gentle grin on her face, "We're here for you Bells. Always and forever."

"Ditto," Bella said with a small smile of her own as she ducked her head.

Her growling stomach let itself be known a moment later, and Bear's quickly followed. Lex insisted they stop, since she was hungry too, and Oliver, making it very clear how reluctant he was about everything, bought their food from a bagel place they had nearly passed. He looked ready to complain when he saw the cost of how much they ordered, but wisely kept his mouth shut and paid.

The group kept walking after they got their order, but it was all devoured before they even made it to their gate. It was one of the things the three had unconsciously picked up on due to all their years in the system; not only did they have to get as much food as they could, as they never had any idea when they would get food again or how much, but they also learned to eat fast or risk someone else outside of their little group taking it.

They made it to their gate with fifteen minutes to spare before boarding, and Lex made sure to complain loudly, right in Oliver's ear, about how bored she was. Bella and Bear kept their mouths shut, although both were amazed at how Lex did everything she could to annoy and torture the guy. She could really, really hold a grudge. In fact, after witnessing a similar case first hand when they were younger, Bella doubted that Lex would ever forgive Oliver for nearly splitting them up, even if it wasn't completely his fault.

Boarding was announced, and Lex insisted on being the last to board. While she didn't answer Oliver when he asked why, Bella felt herself grow warm in embarrassment and happiness as she realized she was the reason. She hated being such a burden on them all, but it was always nice to feel like she had a big sister looking out for her.

Bella risked pulling her hood up, as she knew boarding was when she was most likely to encounter bare skin touching her. Bear, in one of his rare assertive moments, insisted on going first, after Oliver. Bella got to watch in awe as everyone, seated or not, did their best to make way for the incredibly large boy. And since Bella was sticking close to him, pretty much clinging to his shirt, she got to her seat with only a few nauseous shivers after a few people's body parts grazed her.

Unknowingly to her, Lex was keeping a worried eye on Bella. She had noticed that Bella was flinching more and more from any contact besides the contact––always with a cloth barrier between them––she had with Lex and Bear. Not only was Bella's reactions to the possibility of a stranger's touch getting worse, but her reaction to skin touching skin was getting more severe. And so were the nightmares.

While Lex knew now wasn't the time or place to bring it up, Lex wondered if they were doing the right thing––if Lex and Bear shouldn't start having some short skin to skin contact to try and help Bella get past her problem. But Bella's reactions, the way her skin redenned like someone had actually held something hot against it, the pain Bella seemed to endure with even the briefest of contact...was it worth it? Could Lex even stand the pain she would see her sister in if they tried?

"Lex, these are our seats," Bella said, jolting Lex out of her musings. Lex slid in so Bella could be between her and Bear, with Oliver a few seats away. The two girls tried to put up a fight when the flight attendant insisted that Bear be moved due to his size unbalancing the plane so that they could at least be moved with him, but there wasn't much they could do. Eventually, they had to give in and be separated from Bear. When their new seatmate came back, he gave them a dirty look, as he had seen the two girls change seats so that Lex was now between Bella and the older man when he approached. Lex gave him an overly sweet smile, telling him she didn't give a rat's ass what he thought in the politest voice she could muster, as they settled in for their long flight.

"Ready for the next eight or so hours?" Bella whispered to a clearly grumpy Lex.

Lex replied with a low grunt.

Bella fought a small smile off of her face. Sure, the three of them might not be ready to land in Alaska, but without a doubt, Bella knew that Alaska was even less prepared for them.


End file.
